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Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks sadly has yet to see the field. The electric former Texas Longhorns star shredded defenses in 2023 and was considered a first-round NFL Draft prospect before tearing his ACL in November, ending his season. Brooks hasn't seen a football field in any official capacity since.
Brooks was drafted in many fantasy leagues due to his talent and the Panthers' projected role for him when he returns. Brooks is a legitimate three-down back who can function well as a pass protector, runner, and catcher of the football, and excels in his versatility. Brooks can do it all.
When is Jonathon Brooks coming back? Will he return this season? Let's dive in.
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Jonathon Brooks Injury Update for Fantasy Football
The most recent update on Brooks is that he will not return to practice this week. This is somewhat disappointing, as it's the first week he's eligible to come off IR. Brooks stashers will have to wait at least another week, though. It's important to remember that Brooks tore his ACL in November.
Jonathon Brooks Won't Practice This Week
Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks (knee) will not return to practice this week, HC Dave Canales said Monday. Once Brooks starts practicing, the team will have three weeks to place him on the active roster or season-ending IR. Canales ad... pic.twitter.com/2dPqZC1apK
— Draft Sharks (@DraftSharks) September 30, 2024
It's likely that with Panthers lead running back Chuba Hubbard playing well, they feel no need to rush Brooks along, but it does call into question when he will return and how much of a workload he will handle for fantasy managers.
It's reasonable to assume that Brooks won't be held back much longer, but there is a possibility now that he's not activated until around midseason and may not be fantasy-relevant until a few weeks after that, as the Panthers will ramp up his activity slowly to keep him healthy.
Jonathon Brooks Fantasy Football Outlook
Brooks' fantasy outlook is a bit murkier with these new updates. He was seen as a potential league-winner down the stretch, once he got up to speed, but with Hubbard playing so well to this point, it could be more of a committee than people imagine. Of course, that can always change.
The Panthers offensive line played very well in run blocking against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4, so Hubbard had plenty of space to run, but if the line struggles and Hubbard is ineffective at some point, they may have more urgency to get Brooks involved sooner and not be overly cautious.
Either way, fantasy managers who drafted him probably don't have much of a choice but to hold him at this point. Brooks is still extremely talented and can bail out managers who made draft mistakes or suffered a lot of injuries to their roster. There will be plenty of time to figure out if he's startable when he returns, though.
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